1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, apparatus for receiving information and medium which can be used, for example, for receiving information transmitted from an information transmitting apparatus or the like over a digital broadcasting system, a public switched telephone networks and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information conventionally, information such as animation, still images, speech, characters and/or programs has been exchanged utilizing a public switched telephone network as in the case of the Internet or a personal computer communication. However, both of the Internet and the personal computer communication employ a method wherein a receiver of information accesses an information service provider (in short, ISP), and selects and acquires (downloads) required information from the storage apparatus at the ISP and wherein the receiver can not acquire any information without taking any action on the ISP. That is, information can not be acquired through simple operations like selecting a channel as in the case of a common television broadcast. Such an information communication system involving operations at the end of a receiver can not be used as information communication means for advertising and public announcement.
In order to solve such a problem with multi-media information communication, information communication systems have recently been proposed wherein an ISP accesses a multiplicity of receivers for whom the information is intended over a public switched telephone network to send the information to the receivers and to accumulate it at the receivers"" sides whether or not the receivers (homes) need the information and wherein each receiver selects displaying operations on the data storage apparatus (data receiving apparatus) to display necessary information on a screen through operations similar to, for example, those for selecting a television broadcast channel.
As a result of the progress of digital techniques, research and development are under way in the broadcasting industry toward digital broadcasting systems in which various kinds of information including broadcast signals are digitized. Known systems of such a type include integrated services digital broadcasting (ISDB) systems. In an ISDB system, multi-media information is digitized and is transmitted in an integrated and multiplexed form. When various kinds of information are integrated and multiplexed, additional information to be used as control information at the receivers"" sides can be simultaneously transmitted in addition to such information.
Therefore, the use of the system as described above will make it possible to realize services to transmit various kinds of information such as news, sports news, weather forecasts, leisure information and program-related information.
However, the above-described configuration results in a problem in that a user can not efficiently find desired information by looking up the information on a receiving apparatus when the communication capacity of the public switched telephone network increases and when an enormous amount of information is transmitted utilizing means such as digital broadcasting that inherently employs a wide band. Meanwhile, an ISP adds a key word to information to be transmitted or transmits transmission schedules in advance to satisfy a need to allow users to look at the information continually. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JPA) No. 8-263410 has proposed a method in which a receiver specifies a key word for required information and selects the information by collating the key word which has been added to received information with the specified key word. However, using the received key word alone leaves a problem in that a receiver will be reluctant to look at information other than the specified information and will therefore have less opportunity to discover new information and in that a provider can not expect an increase in the number of users.
Meanwhile, increase in the power consumption of receiving terminals has recently become a problem and users have an increasing need for suppressing the power consumption of their receiving apparatuses during transmission of information unnecessary for them. Conventional receiving apparatuses have had a problem in that such an increase in power consumption can not be suppressed.
The present invention addresses the above-described problem with the conventional art, and it is an object of the invention to provide a method, apparatus for receiving information and medium in which the contents of information scheduled to be transmitted with a time delay can be obtained from an amount of information less than that required for the same purpose in the conventional art.
Taking the above-described problems with the conventional art into consideration, it is another object of the invention to provide a method, apparatus for receiving information and medium which allow power consumption to be suppressed compared to the conventional art.
The first aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information comprising the steps of:
receiving transmitted first contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data;
receiving notice information transmitted prior to second contents information and associated with said second contents information, said second contents information being scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay from the transmission of said first contents information and having contents related to the contents of said first contents information; and
displaying said received contents information and said notice information substantially simultaneously in a synthesized manner or side by side.
The second aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information comprising:
first receiving means for receiving transmitted first contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data;
second receiving means for receiving notice information transmitted prior to second contents information and associated with said second contents information, said second contents information being scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay from the transmission of said first contents information and having contents related to the contents of said first contents information; and
received information processing and displaying means for displaying said received contents information and said notice information substantially simultaneously in a synthesized manner or side by side.
The third aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information comprising the steps of:
receiving transmitted first contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data in a state where, said first contents information includes notice information associated with second contents information which is scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay from the transmission of said first contents information and which has contents related to the contents of said first contents information;
separating said notice information from said received information;
reconstructing said separated notice information and said first contents information; and
displaying said reconstructed information.
The fourth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information comprising:
information receiving means for receiving transmitted first contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data in a state where, said first contents information includes notice information associated with second contents information which is scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay from the transmission of said first contents information and which has contents related to the contents of said first contents information;
information separating means for separating said notice information from said received information;
information reconstructing means for reconstructing said separated notice information and said first contents information; and
display means for displaying said reconstructed information.
The fifth aspect of the present invention if a method for receiving information, comprising the steps of:
transmitting relationship information indicating relationship between said first contents information and said notice information; and
receiving said transmitted relationship information.
The sixth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein:
said receiving means receives relationship information transmitted thereto indicating relationship between said first contents information and said notice information.
The seventh aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, wherein:
said notice information is a notice key word;
said received notice key word is stored; and
said notice key word is displayed upon an instruction that said stored notice key word is to be read.
The eighth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein:
said notice information is a notice key word;
said apparatus comprises additional information storing means for storing said received notice key word; and
said received information processing and displaying means displays said notice key word upon an instruction that said stored notice key word is to be read.
The ninth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, said information including notice key words for information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay and the scheduled dates and times for said scheduled information transmitted as the expiration dates of said notice key words, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving said notice key words;
storing said received notice key words;
acquiring the current point in time;
comparing the current point in time with the expiration date of each of said stored notice key words;
deleting each notice key word whose expiration date has been determined expired as a result of the comparison from said stored notice key words; and
displaying notices for the reception of said information transmitted at a time delay based on said stored notice key words.
The tenth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, comprising:
additional information receiving means for receiving notice key words for information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay from transmitted information including said notice key words and the scheduled dates and times for said scheduled information transmitted as the expiration dates of said notice key words;
additional information storing means for storing said received notice key words;
current time acquiring means for acquiring the current point in time;
expiration date comparing means for comparing the current point in time acquired by said current time acquiring means with the expiration date of each of said stored notice key words;
additional information deleting means for deleting each notice key word whose expiration date has been determined expired by said expiration date comparing means from said stored notice key words; and
related information display means for displaying notices for the reception of said information transmitted at a time delay based on said notice key words stored in said additional information storing means.
The eleventh aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, wherein contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data is transmitted along with a key word representing the contents of said contents information as a content key word and along with a key word for related information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay as a notice key word, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving said contents information;
receiving said content key word and said notice key word;
displaying said notice key word and accepting designation of said displayed notice key word by a user for reservation of received information;
storing said notice key word designated for reservation;
comparing said stored notice key word and a newly received content key word; and
selecting and storing contents information received based on the result of the comparison.
The twelfth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data is transmitted along with a key word representing the contents of said contents information as a content key word and along with a key word for related information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay as a notice key word, said apparatus comprising:
information receiving means for receiving said contents information;
additional key word receiving means for receiving said content key word and said notice key word;
notice key word display means for displaying said notice key word;
reservation designating means for allowing a user to designate received information to be reserved based on said displayed notice key word;
reservation key word storing means for storing said notice key word designated for reservation by said reservation designating means;
key word comparing means for comparing said notice key word stored in said reservation key word storing means and a content key word newly received by said additional key word receiving means; and
information storing means for selecting and storing contents information received by said information receiving means based on the result of the comparison.
The thirteenth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information according to said seventh invention, comprising the step of:
forming indices for received information on a hierarchical basis by using both of key words representing classification items for classifying said contents information and key words representing the details of said items among said notice key words.
The fourteenth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, comprising:
reservation information creating means for forming indices for received information on a hierarchical basis by using both of key words representing classification items for classifying said contents information and key words representing the details of said items among said notice key words. The fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, comprising the steps of:
displaying said indices for said stored information;
accepting a selection from among said indices; and
displaying the stored contents information using said selected indices.
The sixteenth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, comprising:
index display means for displaying said indices for said stored information on said displaying means;
index selecting means for making a selection from among said indices; and
reserved information display means for displaying information stored in said reserved information storing means on said display means using said selected indices.
The seventeenth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, wherein contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data is transmitted along with a key word representing the contents of related information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay as a notice key word and along with the arrival time of said related information and time required for receiving the same as a reception period, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving said contents information;
receiving said notice keyword and said reception period;
displaying said notice key word;
accepting designation of said displayed notice key word by a user for reservation of received information; and
receiving and storing contents information based on said reception period received along with said notice key word designated for reservation.
The eighteenth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data is transmitted along with a key word representing the contents of related information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay as a notice key word and along with the arrival time of said related information and time required for receiving the same as a reception period, said apparatus comprising:
information receiving means for receiving said contents information;
additional information receiving means for receiving said notice key word and said reception period;
reception period receiving means for receiving said reception period;
notice key word display means for displaying said notice key word; and
reservation designating means for allowing a user to designate received information based on said displayed notice key word, wherein
contents information is selected and stored based on said reception period received by said reception period receiving means along with said notice key word designated for reservation by said reservation designating means.
The nineteenth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data is transmitted along with a key word representing the contents of related information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay as a notice key word and along with the arrival time of said related information and time required for receiving the same as a reception period, said apparatus comprising:
information receiving means for receiving said contents information;
additional information receiving means for receiving said notice key word and said reception period;
reception period receiving means for receiving said reception period;
power supply means for controlling the supply of power to at least one means including at least said information receiving means;
current time acquiring means for outputting the current time;
notice key word display means for displaying said notice key word; and
reservation designating means for allowing a user to designate received information based on said displayed notice key word, wherein
said power supply means is controlled to select and store contents information received by said receiving means based on notice key word designated for reservation by said reservation designating means along with the reception period received by said reception period receiving means and the current time output by said current time acquiring means.
The twentieth invention of the present invention is a method for receiving information according to said seventeenth invention, wherein said reception period includes the arrival time of information and the time at which reception is terminated.
The twenty-first invention of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information according to said eighteenth or said nineteenth invention, wherein said reception period includes the arrival time of information and the time at which reception is terminated.
The twenty-second invention of the present invention is a method for receiving information, wherein contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data is transmitted along with a key word for related information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay as a notice key word, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving said contents information;
receiving said notice key word; and
displaying said contents information and said notice key word.
The twenty-third aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data is transmitted along with a key word for related information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay as a notice key word, said apparatus comprising:
information receiving means for receiving said contents information;
additional information receiving means for receiving said notice key word; and
display means for displaying said contents information and said notice key word.
The twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, comprising the step of:
after receiving transmission of information in which said contents information and said notice key word are associated with each other in advance and those pieces of information are transmitted as separate pieces of information at different times, adding said notice key word to said contents information based on said association.
The twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein after receiving transmission of information in which said contents information and said notice key word are associated with each other in advance and those pieces of information are transmitted as separate pieces of information at different times, said notice key word is added to said contents information based on said association.
The twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, comprising the step of:
after receiving transmission of information in which said contents information, said notice key word and said content key word are associated with each other in advance and those pieces of information are transmitted as separate pieces of information at different times, adding said notice key word and said content key word to said contents information based on said association.
The twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein after receiving transmission of information in which said contents information, said notice key word and said content key word are associated with each other in advance and those pieces of information are transmitted as separate pieces of information at different times, said notice key word and said content key word are added to said contents information based on said association.
The twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, comprising the step of:
after receiving transmission of information in which said notice key word and the expiration date of said notice key word are associated with each other in advance and those pieces of information are transmitted as separate pieces of information at different times, adding said expiration date to said notice key based on said association.
The twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein after receiving transmission of information in which said notice key word and the expiration date of said notice key word are associated with each other in advance and those pieces of information are transmitted as separate pieces of information at different times, said expiration date is added to said notice key word based on said association.
The thirtieth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, comprising the step of:
after receiving transmission of information in which said contents information, said notice key word and said expiration date are associated with each other in advance and those pieces of information are transmitted as separate pieces of information at different times, adding said contents information, said notice key word and said expiration date based on said association.
The thirty-first aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein after receiving transmission of information in which said contents information, said notice key word and said expiration date are associated with each other in advance and those pieces of information are transmitted as separate pieces of information at different times, said contents information, said notice key word and said expiration date are added based on said association.
The thirty-second aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, for the transmission of contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data wherein at least one particular contents information periodically transmitted for a predetermined time is added with a key word for related information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay as a notice key word and added with the time required for receiving said related information as a reception period, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving said contents information;
receiving said notice key word and said reception period;
displaying said notice key word;
accepting designation of said displayed notice key word by a user for reservation of received information; and
receiving and said contents information based on said reception period received along with said notice key word designated for reservation.
The thirty-third aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein contents information including at least any of images, speech, text and data is transmitted such that at least one piece of said contents information periodically transmitted for a predetermined time is added with a key word for related information scheduled to be transmitted at a time delay as a notice key word and added with the time required for receiving said related information as a reception period, said apparatus comprising:
information receiving means for receiving said contents information;
additional information receiving means for receiving said notice key word;
reception period receiving means for receiving said reception period;
power supply means for controlling the supply of power to one or more means including at least said information receiving means;
synchronous power supply control means for controlling said power supply means in synchronism with time at which said particular contents information is transmitted;
current time acquiring means for outputting the current time;
notice key word display means for displaying said notice key word; and
reservation designating means for allowing a user to designate received information based on said displayed notice key word, wherein
said power supply means is controlled to select and store said contents information received by said receiving means based on said reception period received by said reception period receiving means along with said notice key word designated for reservation by said reservation designating means and the current time output by said current time acquiring means.
The thirty-fourth aspect of the present invention is method for receiving information, wherein said reception period includes the arrival time of information and the time at which reception is terminated.
The thirty-fifth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, wherein said reception period includes the arrival time of information and the time at which reception is terminated.
The thirty-sixth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, comprising the step of:
forming indices for received information on a hierarchical basis by using both of key words representing classification items for classifying said contents information and key words representing the details of said items among said notice key words.
The thirty-seventh aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, comprising:
reservation information creating means for forming indices for received information on a hierarchical basis by using both of key words representing classification items for classifying said contents information and key words representing the details of said items among said notice key words.
The thirty-eighth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information comprising the steps of:
storing key words representing classification items for classifying said contents information from among notice key words which have already been designated for reservation;
calculating the frequencies of said stored classification items; and
selecting the order of display for said notice key words based on the calculated frequencies of the classification items and displaying the same.
The thirty-ninth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, comprising:
reserved classification item storing means for storing key words representing classification items for classifying said contents information from among notice key words which have already been designated for reservation;
frequency calculating means for calculating the frequencies of said stored classification items; and
notice key word display order selecting means for selecting the order of display for said notice key words based on the calculated frequencies of the classification items; and
display means for displaying said notice key words in said order of display.
The fortieth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, comprising the steps of:
storing key words representing classification items for classifying said contents information from among notice key words which have already been designated for reservation;
calculating the frequencies of said stored classification items; and
selecting and displaying at least one candidate of contents information to be deleted based on at least either of said calculated frequencies of the classification items and the date and time when the contents information has been stored.
The forty-first aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, comprising:
reserved classification item storing means for storing key words representing classification items for classifying said contents information from among notice key words which have already been designated for reservation;
frequency calculating means for calculating the frequencies of said stored classification items; and
contents information storage date and time storing means for storing the date and time when said contents information has been stored;
delete candidate selecting means for selecting at least one candidate of contents information to be deleted based on at least either of said calculated frequencies of the classification items and the date and time when the contents information has been stored; and
display means for displaying the contents information selected by said delete candidate selecting means.
The forty-second aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, comprising the steps of:
determining that the storage of said contents information designated for reservation has been completed; and
displaying a message indicating that the storage of reserved information has been completed.
The forty-third aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, comprising:
reserved information storage completion determining means for determining that the storage of said contents information designated for reservation has been completed; and
message display means for displaying a message indicating that the storage of reserved information has been completed.
The forty-fourth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, comprising the steps of:
determining that the storage of said contents information designated for reservation has been completed; and
replying information indicating that the storage of reserved information has been completed to the transmitter of said contents information.
The forty-fifth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, comprising:
reserved information storage completion determining means for determining that the storage of said contents information designated for reservation has been completed; and
information replying means for replying information indicating that the storage of reserved information has been completed to the transmitter of said contents information.
The forty-sixth aspect of the present invention is a method for receiving information, comprising the steps of:
determining that the storage of said contents information designated for reservation has been completed;
storing the content key word for said stored contents information; and
periodically replying said stored content key word to the transmitter of said contents information.
The forty-seventh aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for receiving information, comprising:
reserved information storage completion determining means for determining that the storage of said contents information designated for reservation has been completed;
stored contents information storing means for storing the content key word for said stored contents information; and
information replying means for periodically replying said stored content key word stored in said stored contents information storing means to the transmitter of said contents information.
The forty-eighth aspect of the present invention is a medium for recording a program to cause a computer to execute all or part of each means or portions invention.